Barski ljetopis — Bar Summer Festival
Two months of theatre, concerts and exhibitions between Stari Bar and King Nikola's Palace.
This event has ended
It returns every year — dates for the next edition haven't been announced yet.
The venues tell Bar's whole story between them. Stari Bar is a ruined and partly restored old town on a crag beneath the mountains, a labyrinth of stone gates and roofless halls a few kilometres inland; King Nikola's Palace sits by the water amid a seaside park of old trees. An evening at the festival is also an evening inside the town's layered history.
The programme moves across genres over its two-month run: theatre openers of real weight, big-name concerts and exhibitions in the "Velimir A. Leković" gallery — the 2024 edition, for example, opened with "Mamma Mia" by Belgrade's Theatre on Terazije and hosted the Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra. A dedicated segment called "bARS" showcases local artists, keeping the festival rooted in its own town.
Most events happen open-air under the stars, whether among the old walls of Stari Bar or in the seaside palace park — settings that are themselves half the performance, with warm night air and the scent of the Mediterranean garden around the audience.
Because the festival runs from early July to late August, it works less like an event you attend than a rhythm the town lives by: whichever week you arrive, something is playing, and following the programme is the easiest way into Bar's summer life.
Ticketing is mixed, with some events charged and others free. The full programme is published at barskiljetopis.me — worth checking whichever July or August week you find yourself in Bar, then choosing between a palace-park concert and a night among the old walls.
What to expect
Almost four decades of summers
The festival has chronicled Bar's summers for nearly forty editions — the 39th runs 5 July – 20 August 2026.
Stages with history
Performances in Old Town Bar and the park of King Nikola's Palace.
Theatre, concerts and exhibitions
Past editions have ranged from "Mamma Mia" to the Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra, alongside gallery shows.
The "bARS" local segment
A dedicated platform for Bar's own artists within the festival.
Open-air by default
Most performances play under the stars, among old walls or in the seaside palace park.
Whichever week you arrive
Two months of programming mean any July or August visit overlaps the festival — check barskiljetopis.me.
What happens when
July 5 – August 20, 2026
- July 5Grand opening: „Cigani lete u nebo"
- July 6„Fjord" (theatre play)
- July 7„Razgovor budućih prijatelja" (literary program)
- July 8Opening of the bARS segment — best of edition
- July 9„Urnebesna tragedija"
- July 10„Snovi su me probudili"
- July 11Bar Pop-Rock Waves
- July 12Concert by Ana Rucner
- July 14Book launch „Kratke priče o beskrajnoj vodi"
- July 15–16Musical „Osmijeh za Mariju Mihailović"
- July 17Exhibition „Reč, dve o ljudima"
- July 18„Blank"
- July 19„Minotaur" and „Frekvencija–Vibracija–Energija"
- July 20„Sheep in the Box"
- July 21„Oko svijeta"
- July 22Film „All of a Sudden"
- July 23Concert: Marko Tolja i Septet
- July 24Exhibition „Internacionalna mala grafika — Crna Gora 2025/26"
- July 25Marko Vuksanović — „The Finest Sons and Daughters"
- July 26Workshop „Obećao si mi…"
- July 28Concert by pianist Simo Šišević
- July 29„MRKI — Nisam ti ispričao"
- August 1Film „Her Private Hell" and exhibition „Bar između a-mola i f-dura"
- August 2„Kuća za pisanje" (literary program)
Photos
Where it takes place
Plan your stay
Bar — where to stay and how to get around
Live offers from local hosts on our booking platform. Nothing is charged online — you pay the host on site.
Booking requests are confirmed by the host; payment on site. Offers come from the Travel to Montenegro booking platform.
More events
What else is on in Montenegro around the same time.
Autumn Folklore Festival
Regional folk ensembles, vocal groups and majorettes fill Herceg Novi over five free autumn days.
Meetings under the Old Olive Tree
Children's poetry and art celebrated beneath Bar's 2,000-year-old olive tree each November.
DEUS — December Arts Scene
A month-long December season of theatre, music, literature and film across Podgorica.
